Italy makes no progress in marines talks with India

Mogherini meets Khurshid in The Hague

(ANSA) - Rome, March 25 - Italian Foreign Minister Federica
Mogherini said Tuesday that no progress was made in "frank"
talks with her Indian counterpart in The Hague on the case of
two Italian marines held in India for over two years for
allegedly killing two Indian fishermen during an anti-piracy
mission.
"No steps forward or striking developments (came during the
talks)," she said in Rome after meeting Indian Foreign Minister
Salman Khurshid during a summit on nuclear security.
Lately Italy has been trying to rally international support
among the EU, the US, NATO and the UN to bring home Massimiliano
Latorre and Salvatore Girone, who have been held in New Delhi
since February 2012, after they allegedly opened fire on a
fishing trawler they mistook for a pirate vessel.

It is also planning to try to have international
arbitration on the case, which has seriously strained
Indian-Italian relations, especially before prosecutors ruled
out the death penalty as a possible sentence earlier this year.

They now face up to 10 years in prison, prosecutors say.

Italy argues that the case sets dangerous and wide-ranging
precedents for any country involved in anti-piracy missions
overseas.

The incident occurred while the marines were guarding the
privately owned Italian-flagged oil-tanker MT Enrica Lexie off
the coast of the southern Indian state of Kerala in February
2012.

The pair have been living and working at the Italian
embassy in India amid a long series of delays in the case.

Rome says the marines should be allowed to return home and
argues India does not have jurisdiction over the case as the
incident took place outside its territorial waters.

"We reiterated our determination to explore all the
political and legal actions (possible) to see our rights
recognised and to exercise jurisdiction over the marines case,"
said Mogherini.